No Kiss Blogfest, Part 6!

Are you ready for some No Kiss Action? The sixth annual No-Kiss Blogfest is coming on January 2nd, and if you haven't, you should 100% absolutely sign up with your favorite UST-y almost-kiss scene!

So, the RULES:

1) Sometime between now and Jan 2, 2015 write a post about the No Kiss Blogfest to let everyone know you are participating and that they should, too. Make sure you link back to this post!

2) Sign up for the No Kiss Blogfest by filling in the form below. Because we like forms. Oh yes we do.

3) Tweet about No Kiss Blogfest, using the hash tag: #nokissblogfest

4) After you've recovered from New Years Eve, write a blog sharing your Almost Kiss, No Kiss Blogfest entry. This can be from a WIP, an upcoming release, something you made up on the spur of the moment. Hell, it doesn't even have to be yours. You could post a scene from your favorite book or movie - just make sure you credit it properly. And don't forget to link back to this post!

I'll be serving up some #ThorLove here, and I can't wait to read what everyone else has to offer!

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HAPPY HOLIDAYS from Santa Herc! (Now with bonus Cover Art!)

Santa Herc thought he'd drop by to give us a little present here at Good to Begin Well -- the reveal of the COVER ART for HELEN OF SPARTA for your pleasure and enjoyment! (I know I'm pleased, anyway! More than pleased!!)

So Feast Your Eyes on the beauty! And feel free to pre-order your paperback or kindle ebook (you can pre-order the paperback from Barnes and Noble, too, if that's your preference!) HELEN OF SPARTA will be available April 1st!

Santa Herc himself does not make an appearance within the pages, though I've heard he's a close personal friend of Helen's father, Tyndareus. A point of great pride to the family, I'm sure, and no doubt accounts for his interest in her fabulous cover art!

(and don't forget you can grab your copy of Postcards from Asgard, now, too! Or get the whole Fate of the Gods trilogy in paperback from World Weaver Press for a bargain price, if you prefer! But either way, do consider giving the gift of Thor this holiday season!)

Ready for the cover art?

Long before she ran away with Paris to Troy, Helen of Sparta was haunted by nightmares of a burning city under siege. These dreams foretold impending war—a war that only Helen has the power to avert. To do so, she must defy her family and betray her betrothed by fleeing the palace in the dead of night. In need of protection, she finds shelter and comfort in the arms of Theseus, son of Poseidon. With Theseus at her side, she believes she can escape her destiny. But at every turn, new dangers—violence, betrayal, extortion, threat of war—thwart Helen’s plans and bar her path. Still, she refuses to bend to the will of the gods.

A new take on an ancient myth, Helen of Sparta is the story of one woman determined to decide her own fate.

Happy Holidays! And I'll be back on the blog in January!

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Postcards from Asgard, Available November 27th!

You've heard me talk about Postcards from Asgard off and on, and you've probably seen the cover below amongst my other books, for your goodreads additions (or subtractions I suppose!) -- well, I'm officially here to say that this paranormal romance novella will be live in paperback and ebook on November 27th! But you can pre-order it now for kindle and have it auto-delivered to your device for some delightful post-turkey pre-turkey-coma reading on Thanksgiving Day.

Want to know more? Here's some back of the book blurbage for your reading pleasure:

Ordinarily, Gwen likes goats, even makes her living by milking them, but these two are some kind of devil-spawn, and one of them is pawing the ground, horns aimed at her gut. The fact that they were followed by a blonde farmhand with a much too charming smile isn't all that much of an improvement, either.

But Thjalfi makes himself useful. He's lean and smart, with a warmth in his pale blue eyes that makes her shiver, and she can't deny that he has a way with her horses. He seems to have a way with her, too.

There's just one problem: Thjalfi's a slave, a bondservant to the god of thunder, Thor, and no matter how far they fall in love, he can't stay.

But this so-called god who owns him? He's about to learn just how far a Midwestern girl will go to free the boy she loves.

***

So basically, if you need a #ThorLove fix for your post-Fate of the Gods hangover, grab Postcards from Asgard for some lighter fare to ease the transition to Thor-free fiction, and I hope that Thjalfi becomes your favorite Icelandic teacher, in the meantime, too! (He's definitely mine!) But you don't have to take my word for it:

"In Postcards, Ms. Dillin takes an old myth and turns it into a beautiful contemporary love story. Gwen was strong and stubborn -- her reaction [...] was authentic, believable, and all together hysterical."
-- S.T. Bende, Author of the Elsker Saga

And with this post, I officially declare the blog on HOLIDAY HIATUS! With the possible exception of Santa Theseus's arrival, with some news after Thanksgiving. Don't want to jump on the Santa bandwagon too soon, after all!

See you in January blogfriends! And a Happy Holiday of every shape and style to you and yours in the meanwhile!

(You can get it in paperback now!)
(And Kindle is live!)

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2nd Annual #NAMEthatBUTT: The Final Reveal and WINNERS!

The Round 6 Butt Belonged to...

*drumroll*

Everyone's favorite:

Neptune with a Hippocamp!

Michel Anguier

1652/1680s

bronze

(Seriously you guys who guessed Loki from the clues -- my mind was blown. Because holy crap they have more in common than I ever put together until now! Thanks for teaching me something!)

As you know, this was our final butt of the season -- and I, too, am sorry to see the end of this year's #NameThatButt bonanza, but never fear! Next year we'll be back with more mythological butts for your guessing pleasure! And in the meantime, we have some WINNERS!!!

RUNNERS UP: 

(winners of some fabulous #NamethatButt postcards for your mailing pleasure)

1. Amata
2. Henna
3. Melissa

email me your mailing addresses at amaliatdillin(at)gmail(dot)com by November 27th to claim your postcards!

And...

THE GRAND PRIZE WINNER:

(winner of EITHER an autographed copy of a Fate of the Gods book/a paper ARC of Postcards from Asgard, OR 2nd Annual #NAMEthatBUTT CHAMPION t-shirt. We will discuss butts and books, etc. PERHAPS A BUTT COLLAGE might even be in order. And also postcards. of course.)

1. *** Faithlessone/Emily! ***

email me at the above address by November 27th to claim your prize! 

Thank you so much to everyone who played -- and I hope to see you again next year for #NAMEthatBUTT, the 3rd edition!

I'll be back posting on the blog this Thursday and then it's HOLIDAY HIATUS time! Which, since I've once again forgotten to run a santa-hats-on-sculpture competition... might result in the return of Santa Theseus to the blog, for the duration.

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2nd Annual #NameThatButt: Round 6.5!

This is our LAST CRACK (hahaha butt puns) at #NAMEthatBUTT until next year -- and I've got another small bonus for this second-chance round, as well!

First person to guess correctly AND include a brief, humorous recounting of their favorite myth involving said butt, gets an additional 3 points. (If you guess artist, subject, and Name That Butt correctly, that means you can earn a max of 6 points!)

Also, let's talk about The Prizes

• Postcards of Butts (for the grand prize and runner(s) up!)

AND the player with the MOST points will have their choice of:

1. A 2nd Annual #NameThatButt Champion t-shirt (yes it will have a butt, yes, it will say you are the champion, I may even offer you a limited choice of which butt -- depending on which butts have the resolution for t-shirting. I should be able to offer Hercules, at least. Not sure who else yet!)
   
   OR
2. an autographed copy of a Fate of the Gods book of their choice (FORGED BY FATE, FATE FORGOTTEN, TAMING FATE, or BEYOND FATE, or I also have an ARC of the POSTCARDS FROM ASGARD novella which I'll be happy to sign and send, if you have all the others).

THE RULES:

• Comments will be moderated.  You will NOT see your comment appear immediately after posting! 
• I post a butt and clues, you guess who that butt belongs to in the comments. If you guess right, you get 5 points. 
• If you CORRECTLY identify the artistic work (title/artist) in question, you earn a bonus 5 points total: 2.5 for title, 2.5 for artist. (Provided of course, that it differs from the subject's name alone and the artist is known at all)
• The following Friday, I reveal the full backside image of the sculpture in question! If at this time you can correctly identify artist/title/subject of the piece, you can earn up to 3 points (total -- 1 point for artist, 1 point for title, 1 point for subject) 
• You may guess artist/title/subject until the next round of NAME THAT BUTT begins. (Usually the next Tuesday -- I'll reveal the previous week's sculpture and offer the next butt for guessing!)
• I'll keep a running tally of correct answers/points, with occasional updates of who is "winning."
• For Olympians, Greek AND Roman names are acceptable for the subject guesses. For example, if the butt belongs to Mercury, I will also accept Hermes as a correct answer.
• A new NAME THAT BUTT may NOT be posted every week, depending on Things.  And all Name That Butt photos belong to me (unless otherwise noted)! Please do not reuse without permission.
• There will be Prizes at the finish. They will be shipped internationally. 

SO, let's get to the final full backside of beauty and grace:

And the Final Clue(s):

1. This butt could be said to have an earth-shaking personality! 
2. I never realized how much this butt had in common with Loki until now.
3. Seriously it is a revelation!

Drop your final guesses in the comments of this post! You have until 11:59pm on Monday, November 17th to Name This Butt! Go go go!

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2nd Annual #NAMEthatBUTT: Round 6!

Round 5's fabulous double butts belonged to...

*Drumroll*

Venus and Cupid!

(You guys are lucky el husband took another picture of this fountain because all the shots I took are super the most crooked ever terrible photos! ha.)

More deets:

Follower of Giovanni Bologna

Italian 16th Century

bronze

c. 1575/1580

and now, THE FINAL CHAPTER!

Since this is the LAST BUTT, let's get some bonus pointage in here.

• First person to guess the subject of the sculpture CORRECTLY gets an additional 5 points! (total potential max if you guess title/artist/subject and are first? 15 points!)
• First person to guess correctly AND include a brief, humorous recounting of their favorite myth involving said butt, gets an additional 10 points. (total potential max if you guess title/artist/subject and tell me a mythic story first? 20 points!)
• There will be two bonuses awarded, which means that even if you are the very first correct guess and you include the story for the bonus 10 points, the person who correctly guesses after you will get the first correct guess sans story 5 point bonus, still. Because I'm generous that way.
• What does this mean? it means it is ANYONE's game!

Also, let's talk about The Prizes

• Postcards of Butts (for the grand prize and runner(s) up!)

AND the player with the MOST points will have their choice of:

1. A 2nd Annual #NameThatButt Champion t-shirt (yes it will have a butt, yes, it will say you are the champion, I may even offer you a limited choice of which butt -- depending on which butts have the resolution for t-shirting. I should be able to offer Hercules, at least. Not sure who else yet!)
   
   OR
2. an autographed copy of a Fate of the Gods book of their choice (FORGED BY FATE, FATE FORGOTTEN, TAMING FATE, or BEYOND FATE, or I also have an ARC of the POSTCARDS FROM ASGARD novella which I'll be happy to sign and send, if you have all the others).

AND THE FINAL BUTT IN QUESTION:

Your Clues:

1. This butt has no respect for the temples and sensibilities of its fellows.
2. This butt's offspring includes heroes AND villains! (though really, some heroes were pretty villainous by today's standards so...)
3. More than one of this butt's affairs of the flesh resulted in children who were... horses.

Complete Rules are Below! You have until 11:59 pm Thursday, November 13th to drop your guesses regarding this glorious backside in the comments of this post for full maximum pointage and potential bonus awards.

2nd Annual #NAMEthatBUTT Round 5.5

THE RULES:

• Comments will be moderated.  You will NOT see your comment appear immediately after posting! 
• I post a butt and clues, you guess who that butt belongs to in the comments. If you guess right, you get 5 points. 
• If you CORRECTLY identify the artistic work (title/artist) in question, you earn a bonus 5 points total: 2.5 for title, 2.5 for artist. (Provided of course, that it differs from the subject's name alone and the artist is known at all)
• The following Friday, I reveal the full backside image of the sculpture in question! If at this time you can correctly identify artist/title/subject of the piece, you can earn up to 3 points (total -- 1 point for artist, 1 point for title, 1 point for subject) 
• You may guess artist/title/subject until the next round of NAME THAT BUTT begins. (Usually the next Tuesday -- I'll reveal the previous week's sculpture and offer the next butt for guessing!)
• I'll keep a running tally of correct answers/points, with occasional updates of who is "winning."
• For Olympians, Greek AND Roman names are acceptable for the subject guesses. For example, if the butt belongs to Mercury, I will also accept Hermes as a correct answer.
• A new NAME THAT BUTT may NOT be posted every week, depending on Things.  And all Name That Butt photos belong to me (unless otherwise noted)! Please do not reuse without permission.
• There will be Prizes at the finish. They will be shipped internationally. 

The Full Moons

And the final clue:

1) Both these Butts involve themselves in affairs of the heart.

Remember for this Double Butt, you must guess CORRECTLY both subjects! 2 points will be awarded for the correctly guessed butts, 1 point for the sculpture title and 1 point for the artist! That's an extra second-chance point this round for the extra butt involved! You have until 11:59 pm Eastern on Monday, November 10th to drop your guess in the comments! Go go go!

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